THE CATASTROPHE 103
the result that in these regions—especially in the towns—the
number of neglected children has grown enormously. There is
yet another reason why the lot of the children in the agricultural
districts is particularly hard—the peculiar mental conflict to
which they are exposed as guardians of the interests and
principles of the Soviet State against their parents and other
relatives. In collecting the harvest from the peasantry it has
been one of Moscow's cardinal rules persistently to work upon
the children and make them the guardians and supervisors of
the interests and property of the State against their own
parents. An incident reported in May I9341 will perhaps
best serve to make the position clear. "Pronya Kolibin is the
latest Communist 'hero/ " the message began. At the age of
thirteen, it continued, he won the praise of the Soviet authorities
for reporting that his mother was stealing grain from a collective
farm in a district near Moscow. Such grain thefts are punishable
with death. To reward Pronya for the betrayal of his mother
the Soviet Government awarded him a cash gratuity. Pronya
commemorated his mother's misdeeds in verses which were
published in Pravda. Two lines run: "Mother, you do harm
to the State; I can no longer live with you." The report ends
by saying that it was not known whether the mother had used
the stolen grain in order to supplement the rations of her
children.
The case here dealt with is typical of what is going on m
the various agricultural districts of Russia. It throws a light
on the severe spiritual struggles which are taking place to-day
between parents and children. Indeed, the catastrophe is
remarkable as much for mental struggles and sufferings, a
description of which lies outside the scope of this book, as for
the physical sufferings and privations of the population.
1 Renter's Agency^ May 21,1934.